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Tuesday, November 17, 2015

AF welcomes newest 3-star general to lead manpower, personnel, services

By Tech. Sgt. Bryan Franks, Secretary of the Air Force
Public Affairs Command Information / Published November 17, 2015

WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen.
David L. Goldfein welcomed the newest lieutenant general to the Air Force, who
will serve as the 31st Air Force deputy chief of staff for manpower, personnel
and services, during a Nov. 16 ceremony at the Pentagon.

With her new title, Lt. Gen. Gina Grosso is responsible for
comprehensive plans and policies covering all life cycles of military and
civilian personnel management, which includes military and civilian end
strength management, education and training, compensation, resource allocation,
and the worldwide Air Force services program. She is the first female to hold the
position.

Grosso said that the Air Force has given her opportunities
of increasing responsibility and authority in the manpower, personnel and
services arena, including command opportunity positions to prepare her for her
new role.

“I never aspired to be a three star,” Grosso said. “I always
aspired to be a good Airman and do the best I could in the job the Air Force
asked me to do.”

Grosso marked the occasion in front of a host of co-workers,
friends and family, who she said were part of the inspiration that kept her
moving forward.

“I grew up with an amazing group of role models that were
all of my mom’s friends,” Grosso said. “I saw these amazing women and the
things they were doing in their lives -- I believed I could do whatever I
wanted to do in this world. It never occurred to me to limit myself based on my
gender.”

As the new deputy, Grosso said that developing the plans to
expand on the Human Capital Annex of the Air Force’s Strategic Master Plan is
going to be a huge part of her job to make sure the Air Force is not only
capable today, but in the midterm and far-term, and she is excited about the
opportunity.

“I have served in positions that didn’t even exist when I
was a second lieutenant and you don’t know what this world looks like far into
the future,” Grosso said. “The Air Force has such tremendous opportunities for
men and women, of all ages and colors, military and civilian.”

Over the span of 29 years, Grosso has held several command
and staff positions most recently serving as the Air Force’s Sexual Assault
Prevention and Response program director.

“To me, the sky is the limit and so my advice is to never
hesitate to go through a door, especially if it’s really scary to go through,
because the less you know about something the more you grow and I will
guarantee you will probably look back on that as your best assignment ever,”
she said.